


The Ecology of Love

by onthedriftinthetardis (on_the_drift)



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-08-14 14:25:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8017489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/on_the_drift/pseuds/onthedriftinthetardis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor takes Rose to see the Northern Lights.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ecology of Love

**Author's Note:**

> For the weekly timepetalsprompts drabble prompt, "success, fish, watch." 
> 
> Thanks to mountaingirlheidi for the beta!

The Doctor and Rose sat on the Doctor's coat, which was spread over a lichen-covered rock in the middle of a clearing. Boreal forest surrounded them, a mixture of Jack pine, black spruce, paper birch, balsam fir, and other trees, darkening in the twilight. A Great Gray Owl perched on a branch, opened its eyes, and shook out its wings, preparing for a night of hunting. Near the edge of the forest, unnoticed by the travelers, a lynx pursued a vole, hoping for dinner. And far off, so far as to be nearly inaudible, a wolf howled into the brisk autumn wind. 

Rose sat cross-legged in her jeans, black jacket, and multi-colored scarf, listening to the Doctor ramble on about the ecology of the North Woods. 

The Doctor leaned back onto his elbows. “Boreal forest, Rose, is an amazing eco-region that spreads across the northern woods of the world. It starts off as bare rock, then develops lichens like these, and gradually accumulates more biomass over time until it peaks in a mixed coniferous and deciduous woodland such as we have here,” he gestured vaguely towards a large clump of fir trees. “And more and more animals move in. Ecological succession can take upwards of a hundred years, but look at what it produces out of thin air!”

Rose lay back on her elbows on the surprisingly comfortable coat, parallel to the Doctor, and looked at him quizzically. “Out of thin air?”

“Wellll, not actually out of thin air. Spores are carried on the wind, and settle on the rock, and communities of lichens and mosses colonize it and help collect and maintain the soil. Oh! And the soils, Rose, are called podzols, from the Russian word for ash. It’s rather fun to say — podzols, podzols... “ he slowly stopped talking as he noticed a smirk on his companion’s face.

“What?” He smiled back at her.

“Nothing. I just love hearing you go on about all the science-y things. Never thought I'd like science, but you love it, and it's wonderful to hear that in your voice,” she said with a grin.

“Brilliant,” he said with a smile. “Like to learn more about the evolutionary process, Rose?” He leaned towards her and spoke quietly in her ear. “All about natural selection and,” he paused to waggle his eyebrows, “coevolution. If you're especially good, I might treat you to a short treatise on genetic drift.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “I get evolution, I do, since you’ve explained about it _more than once_.” She hesitated, uncertain how he would receive her next comment. “But, don’t you think a deity would be needed to start the process off?” 

“Nah,” said the Doctor with deceptive nonchalance. “Just the proper chemicals, the right stimulus, and Bob’s your uncle! Instant life. And even though it might be counter-intuitive to understand at first, evolution is like a blind watchmaker, developing more complex organisms and communities over time. No gods required.”

Rose was quiet for a long moment, then looked up and gasped. A green and blue and purple mirage had appeared in the sky above them, swirling and pulsing with an otherworldly light. 

“This is why you brought me here?” Rose asked, awed by the spectacle.

“Yes,” he whispered, his voice almost reverent. “It’s the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights.”

“It’s amazing. Thank you,” she replied gently, lifting her eyes to watch the luminescent display. “I just … I don’t see how you can look at this and not believe in, well, something bigger, better than you are,” she said, genuinely puzzled. 

“Who says I don’t?” the Doctor said, sitting up and extending a hand to hold hers.

“I just thought… on Krop Tor, you didn’t seem to.”

It was the Doctor’s turn to be quiet. “I didn’t want to give anything away to the Beast, at least not at first. But when I was down in the pit, facing it, and you were on board that rocket, I suppose I didn’t care any more.” He looked at her intently.

“What do you mean?” Rose asked, suddenly breathless.

“If I believe in one thing, just one thing…” He hesitated. Rose nodded encouragingly, and the Doctor reached out and cupped her face in his hands.

“I believe in you,” he murmured.

Rose shuddered pleasurably at the Doctor's touch, and her belly tightened as a kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttered about inside her at his admission. 

He closed the distance between them, leaving just a sliver of space. The aurora overhead intensified, casting blue-green light below, and when her eyes fluttered shut, the Doctor pressed his lips to hers. He pulled back, and seeing the reflection of his own desire in her eyes, crushed his mouth to hers, initiating a heated exchange of lips, teeth and tongues. Her quiet moans split the silence in the clearing, and he delved in deeper, slipping his tongue past her teeth to graze the roof of her mouth. He reached for her, cool fingers slipping under the back of her jacket and shirt. She whimpered and drew back, trembling. 

“‘m sorry,” she said quietly. “I want this, I do, it's just…could we slow down, just a little bit?“

“Course we can.” The Doctor looked dazed, and then his eyes widened. “I’m sorry, Rose! I didn’t mean to push … I erm … sortofgotlostinthemoment,” he apologized, flushing at both his lack of control and apparent cluelessness. 

She kissed him softly, full of love she hoped he could feel, and he returned the kiss with gratitude, reining himself in with surprising difficulty, hearts still racing. He sat back and put his arm around her shoulders, and she snuggled up next to him, and stroked his back soothingly. 

“Tell me about the Aurora,” Rose requested. 

The Doctor was quiet for a long moment, and then began to speak: 

“Once more the old mysterious glimmer steals From thy pure brows, and from thy shoulders pure, And bosom beating with a heart renewed. Thy cheek begins to redden through the gloom, Thy sweet eyes brighten slowly close to mine, Ere yet they blind the stars, and the wild team Which love thee, yearning for thy yoke, arise, And shake the darkness from their loosened manes, And beat the twilight into flakes of a fire.”

“It’s beautiful. Not what I was expecting, but lovely. Who wrote it?”

“Tennyson. It's from a poem about Tithonus, the mortal lover of Aurora, or Eos, as the Greeks called her. Like most encounters with the Greek gods, it doesn't end well for the mortal. He was granted eternal life but not eternal youth. Eos turns him into a cicada, in the end,” the Doctor said gloomily. 

“Be careful what you wish for, yeah?” Rose said, swallowing hard as she thought about their encounter in front of the chip shop, months ago. He'd said, “humans decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone who you…,” and then he'd stopped. She had been upset that he wouldn't finish that sentence, but she thought she understood him a bit better now. 

Rose hugged him tightly. “I'm not going anywhere for a good long time, Doctor,” she said, unable to stop tears from rolling down her face as she thought of him having to watch her grow old. 

He turned to her and brushed her tears away with his thumbs. “Oh Rose, I'm so sorry,” he said ruefully. “I meant this to be a special night, and instead I've made you cry.”

“No, s’not your fault. And it was special. It is special. And… I don't want it to end.”

The Doctor began to speak, but was rendered speechless when Rose straddled his hips. She kissed him, running her fingers through his hair and around to the back of his head, pulling him towards her. She ran the tip of her tongue slowly along his top lip, making him gasp, then caught his bottom lip between her teeth, biting delicately. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly to him, and she ground her hips against him, searching out and finding his rising hardness. 

He groaned, and with a supreme act of will, pulled back from her, just a little. “Rose? I thought you didn't want….” he started. 

“I _do_ want this. I want you. And I don't want to waste any more time.”

The Doctor kissed her once, hard, and helped her rise, then got up himself. He picked up his coat, shook it out, and threw it on. He took her hand, squeezing it gently, and they walked quickly to the TARDIS standing a dozen yards away. 

While the Doctor fished out his key, Rose turned back, looking at the Aurora one more time. Beautiful as it was, it couldn't compete with him. She had loved him since before he changed, and if he was willing to overlook her mortality, she wanted nothing more than to be with him, for as long as she could. When she turned back, the Doctor had the door open and was waiting for her. 

She smiled at him and followed him inside. He closed the door behind them, and led her through a maze of hallways to a blue door. He opened it, and turned to look at her. “You're sure, Rose?”

She couldn't blame him for asking, as she'd pulled away earlier. “I'm sure. I just didn't think that you….”

“Oh, I do! Want this, I mean. In case that wasn't clear a few minutes ago. What I don't want is to have any regrets.” 

Rose nodded, and together they went forward. 

 


End file.
